Ionic liquids have been explored as lubricant additives for at least the last decade. However, several drawbacks have been encountered with the ionic liquids used in the art for this purpose. In particular, the ionic liquids used in the art generally possess lower than desirable (or insufficient) solubility in base oils into which they are included, which results in either the use of very low additive concentrations or separation of the additive from the base oil during use. The low solubility of many ionic liquids in base oils is a significant obstacle to their use since the low concentrations used and/or incomplete miscibility results in substandard or inconsistent wear and friction control. Thus, there is a need for improving the solubility of ionic liquids in various lubricating oils. Moreover, there is a need for new ionic liquid compositions having improved anti-wear and friction reduction properties.